Members of the Online Community joined together on July 4th to issue the Declaration of an Independent Internet which begins with the preamble, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all information is created equal." The event was sponsored by SafeSurf, a parents' online organization dedicated to making the Internet safe for children, to point out the necessity of self-regulation with parental control as opposed to government censorship of the Internet. The full document can be read at the SafeSurf web site located at http://www.safesurf.com/.

"I'm signing my name nice and big, so that Senator Exon can read it without his glasses," said SafeSurf Chairman Ray Soular, smiling. "On a more serious note, we have a plan that will create a safe cyber-playground for children by September, through cooperation, not censorship."

The SafeSurf Rating System targets sites which are child safe, marking them with a code. Through the use of a special password and software, children are only able to access those marked sites. Sites that are coded as containing adult material, or not coded at all, will be rendered invisible to children using the system.

"By signing this document, we hereby mark the beginning of a self regulatory Internet," says Wendy Simpson, President. "We wish to proclaim to the world that we can solve this problem, without passing a single law."

To celebrate the signing of the declaration, SafeSurf has added a fireworks display and an American flag to their Internet site.